There’s something about homesteading that really calls to me. Maybe it’s the idea of being self-sufficient, or maybe it’s the challenge of learning new skills. Whatever it is, I can’t help but dream about homesteading someday. In this blog post, I want to share my dream with you and talk about some of the things I would love to do when I homestead.
First, we should start with the “why”. What is the draw of homesteading? For me, it’s all about independence. I love the idea of being able to provide for my family without relying on others. I also love the challenge of learning new skills and using them to create something amazing. Homesteading is a way to do that – to learn new things and put them into practice in a real-world setting.
It’s also about simplifying our lives and getting back to basics. I’m tired of the hustle and bustle of modern life, and homesteading is a way for us to slow down and enjoy what we have right now. It’s not an easy life, but it’s a fulfilling one.
There are so many things I want to do when we homestead. One of my top priorities is to grow our own food. I would love to have a huge garden where we could grow everything from vegetables to fruits to herbs. We could also raise chickens and goats for eggs and milk, and rabbits for meat.
Let’s start with the garden. We live in Canada, so there are going to be some things that just won’t grow well in our region, but we’ll still be able to grow a lot of our favorites!
Some of the things we enjoy and would love to grow are:
- potatoes
- tomatoes
- peppers
- carrots
- broccoli
- cauliflower
- cabbage
- green beans
- peas
- beats
- onions
- garlic
- radish
- cucumber (for both fresh and pickles)
- zucchini
- pattypans
- spaghetti squash
- berries (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries)
- fruit trees (apples, pears, plums, peaches, cherries, and maybe even some nuts)
It seems like a lot doesn’t it! But, homesteading is about making the most out of your homestead and growing things you love to eat. So, if we could grow all those things we’d be pretty happy!
Now for livestock. We’ve already decided that we want goats for milk, chickens for eggs (and meat), and rabbits for meat. We’ve actually had experience raising all three of those before so I don’t think we’d have too much trouble getting started with them again.
One other livestock option that we’ve been thinking about is bees. We live in a really great location for honeybees, and they are such an important part of our homesteading economy. My husband has done a lot of research about bees, and we even have some friends that have hives and sell their honey. I’m not sure if we’d get bees right away, but it’s definitely something we’d like to try!
There are so many options and ways to expand with homesteading, but these are thing things that I think we could reasonably start with. It’s all about having a dream, and then working towards making that dream come true.
Another great thing about homesteading is that you can sell your surplus to generate some additional income. Maybe you could have a roadside stand, or sell your produce at the local farmers market. There are always people looking for farm-fresh eggs! There are lots of options available if you want to homestead as a business!
So, what did I miss? What homesteading activities would be on your list? Let me know in the comments below!
